Francisco Ferrer Guardia

Ferrer Guardia, Francisco (fränthēsˈkō fārārˈ gwärˈdyä) [key], 1859–1909, Spanish political theorist and educator. An ardent liberal, anticlerical, and republican, he took refuge in France (1886), where he was further influenced by radical thought. He returned to Spain to found (1901) a progressive, anticlerical, and antimilitarist school at Barcelona. Accused of complicity in the attempt (1906) to murder King Alfonso XIII, he was released and continued his educational work until 1909, when he was convicted of taking part in the uprising in Barcelona. He was executed. His death, viewed by liberals everywhere as a judicial murder, provoked demonstrations in W Europe.